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Messy, but it works, keeps all the source takes available and allows for balance/mix adjustments in situ.

As each song may need a different balance, it is great to have the "Snapshot Channel Settings to Automation" feature, so I can re-baseline the settings for each song down the timeline.

Question: Selecting/highlighting track numbers does not cause each selected track to be snapshotted (is that a word?). Is there any way to write snapshots simultaneously for all my active tracks at once?

Select all (or just those you want) in a Mixer view instead of the MT view. The ones you create in either view, are available for all views, by the way.

Once you have them selected in a Mixer View, you can use the Save To File commands, as well as Recall From File commands, located in the channel strip/mixer menus.

Keep in mind that the save to file command saves every channel strip parameter that is automatable and thus after a channel strip has been recalled and written as automation, all new changes must be also saved as automation as you work your way down the timeline, or they will be reset by the baseline bulk recall you first made. That can be tricky sometimes, when you happen to forget that these have been automated this way and you make a trial change to something on the fly, only to have it reset when you hit stop playback.

SAW/SAC - finally retired a P4/2gHz after ten great years! Burnin' rubber in 2015 with an Intel Core2 Duo e4700/2.6GHz and the trusty RME Digiface/PCI pack.

Have now successfully used the "snapshot to automation" function on my latest session.

Selecting multiple channels on the mixer view does save automations on each channel, but interestingly if that selection includes output channels, their automation is not written, only the input channels.

However, if I then select the output tracks alone, their automation does get written by the snapshot function. A little odd, but still usable.

Anyhow, this has speeded my work up greatly, so thanks once again, uptildawn!

Have now successfully used the "snapshot to automation" function on my latest session.

Selecting multiple channels on the mixer view does save automations on each channel, but interestingly if that selection includes output channels, their automation is not written, only the input channels.

However, if I then select the output tracks alone, their automation does get written by the snapshot function. A little odd, but still usable.

Anyhow, this has speeded my work up greatly, so thanks once again, uptildawn!

Cheers,

Using the right-click Store and Recall All From File commands found in the mixer channel strip menus are what I use to store and recall any and/or all inputs, outputs, returns........ whatever I select (blacken) and store, I can then recall - selectively by channel, or all at once by re-selecting those channels to write the automation. I just have to have automation mode turned on and my cursor in the right position when I recall them. This command writes ALL automatable parameters.

There are options when selecting channels to select ALL, or only Inputs, or Outputs, etc. as you know. I usually have one or two Groups defined as All Tracks Temp., All Tracks and Outs and Returns Temp, etc., so that I don't end up writing automation across all channels, even unused.

You might try those variations.

Oh! and one important tip...
I always create a folder specifically for a given project and its automation group writes to be stored to. If I do more than one group write (say for multiple starting points on the timeline - snapshots of the settings at those points in time) in the same project, I will create subfolders for each new group write. This is to avoid accidental overwriting of previous group writes that I may want to recall elsewhere.

It seems that SAW uses whatever channel strip names are given and always starts with input channels, in numerical order (even if you happen to save the group while a different channel is your hot track). If your channel names don't change from group write to group write (and why would they?), there's no way to define one write from the next, without keeping them separate. I do wish that we could give each write a unique base file name (such as using a song name, or a timeline location), so that Kick Drum in song one group would be Song 1-Kick Drum and song 2 would be Song 2-Kick Drum, for instance. Then there'd be far less need for stacking subfolders.

I keep a running library of channel strip groups from various recordings, much as Bob designed the automation gallery to be used. I often will recall anywhere from a single channel to all saved channels into another project to act as a starting point (for instance).

It's also possible to recall any given single channel from file, regardless of whether there is a name match - just simply find and recall an saved channel into any current hot channel you wish. This won't work with a group of channels however - they must be matched exactly by name, or the ones that are not will be ignored (although any that are and are selected will be recalled).

Last edited by UpTilDawn; 12-05-2018 at 08:13 PM.

SAW/SAC - finally retired a P4/2gHz after ten great years! Burnin' rubber in 2015 with an Intel Core2 Duo e4700/2.6GHz and the trusty RME Digiface/PCI pack.

Have now successfully used the "snapshot to automation" function on my latest session.

Selecting multiple channels on the mixer view does save automations on each channel, but interestingly if that selection includes output channels, their automation is not written, only the input channels.

However, if I then select the output tracks alone, their automation does get written by the snapshot function. A little odd, but still usable.

Anyhow, this has speeded my work up greatly, so thanks once again, uptildawn!

Cheers,

Alan -- just so you know -- as you've discovered if you're trying to do stuff to multiple channels at once, SAW will only do it to one channel type at a time. The current hot track (hot channel) is what determines which type gets the attention for such operations. So, even if you have, say, some inputs and some returns and some output channels selected (blackened channel number), only the type that is "hot" will be affected. But all selected channels of that type will be affected. So, if you want to do it to more than one type, as you've discovered, you have to do it once for each type that you're interested in.

UPDATE: after further discussion with The Honorable UpTilDawn, I've come to realize that such a blanket statement as what I said above is not right. It applies, specifically, to the memory cell operations, not to the Store-to- and Recall-from-file operations.

Alan -- just so you know -- as you've discovered if you're trying to do stuff to multiple channels at once, SAW will only do it to one channel type at a time. The current hot track (hot channel) is what determines which type gets the attention for such operations. So, even if you have, say, some inputs and some returns and some output channels selected (blackened channel number), only the type that is "hot" will be affected. But all selected channels of that type will be affected. So, if you want to do it to more than one type, as you've discovered, you have to do it once for each type that you're interested in.

Dig? Or as the kids say... do ya feel me?

This is not accurate, Dave.
See my earlier post about using the mixer channel right-click Save and Recall To/From File options. I use them almost every time I work on a multi-track concert recording. They are extremely handy.

SAW/SAC - finally retired a P4/2gHz after ten great years! Burnin' rubber in 2015 with an Intel Core2 Duo e4700/2.6GHz and the trusty RME Digiface/PCI pack.

This is not accurate, Dave.
See my earlier post about using the mixer channel right-click Save and Recall To/From File options. I use them almost every time I work on a multi-track concert recording. They are extremely handy.

What's not accurate, UTD?

RE: "There are options when selecting channels to select ALL, or only Inputs, or Outputs, etc. as you know."

Select any and all channel strip types you wish to save, or recall (blacken the numbers). Then use one of these right-click mixer menu items. Works like a charm.

Interesting. I hadn't thought these functions would work across multiple channels and channel types; I appear to be half correct. See if you don't concur.

Storing from channel to file -- yes, it will save as many channels and channel type setting files as you like all at once. Oddly, though, you can only name the furthest-left-(on the factory-default mixer layout)selected-channel file before saving (must be a simple coding oversight). All other file names default to track label, then track number if the label is blank. I guess maybe Bob only meant the dialog only as a means to provide navigation capabilities, but in that case I'da thought he'd disable the filename field for user input.

As for restoring from file to channel, I see no way to select more than one file at a time in the restore dialog. As such, I don't know how one would restore more than one settings file at a time to multiple tracks, let alone to multiple channel types. This goes for the "Recall All From File And Duplicate To Selected Channels" function, too.

Sidebar: I've always thought it a little odd that Bob added a whole menu item ("Recall All From File And Duplicate To Selected Channels"), rather than just have the existing Restore-From-File function respond to multiple selected channels. I digress

What do you think, UTD?

Oh -- still not clear on what you meant by "There are options when selecting channels to select ALL, or only Inputs, or Outputs, etc. as you know." Do you mean you have the freedom to select only the channels or channel types you're interested in when you're actually making the selections? Or do you mean there's an option somewhere to make that choice?

P.S. I seem to recall a way to match up .cht files with channels by name -- for several channel restores at once. Can't find that, now. Or am I thinking of something else?